Jan_9_2005

Gospel :
Mt 3:13-17
Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?" Jesus said to him in reply, "Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed him. After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

Good morning. It is always a pleasure to come back and be with you all. This is a very special place and it always fills me with joy to be here with you. I promised Father John that I’d keep it under 45 minutes. That’s one way to not get ordained.

Today is a very special Gospel reading. Imagine yourself at the Jordan, at the shore among the throngs of people, hundreds, maybe thousands, waiting to be baptized by John. Each one there, for a specific reason, whatever it may be, was willing to change their lives. They heard the voice of the one crying out in the desert, “Come, repent, for the day of the Lord is at hand.” There was John, a holy man.

John knew in his heart that he wasn’t the Christ. Though he was questioned by the Sadducees and the Pharisees “Are you the Christ? Are you the Messiah?” John replied emphatically, “No, I am not.” What humility John had and how easy it would have been for him to abuse that because these people would have done anything for John. If he would have said, “Yeah, sure, I’m god. I’m the one you’ve all been waiting for.” They would have taken John in. They would have said, “John, John, you’ve been in the desert way too long. It’s time to come to the city. Come on. We’ll clean you up. You’ve been living in a cave. I have a brother who’s a real estate agent. We’ll put you next to the temple. We’ll clean you up. Man, that Camel skin is worn. How long have you been wearing that? It can stand on it’s own.” They would have done that for John, but John knew better. He was the forerunner of the one who was to come. He wasn’t the Christ. He was the one who paved the way. That is a great example for us of humility. It is wonderful, wonderful.

All of a sudden, for John, there He was in front of him. The One. The Lamb. The Son of God. The God man made flesh-standing in front of John. We can only imagine the joy that John felt in seeing the living God in front of him, saying, “John, baptize me.” How he must have felt. We can only imagine. We must remember that Jesus was God. He was true man but he was also true God. Jesus Christ didn’t need to be baptized. He did it as an example for us. Again, what profound humility. God the creator of everything that lives and that breathes and that has being, humbles himself in front of one of his creations in order to be baptized. As he immersed himself in the water, how the oceans of the world sprang up with joy and they sang Alleluia for the living God sanctified the water in order to cleanse us of our sins, in order to make us holy. As he came up out of the water, the sky opened up and God the Father exclaimed, ”This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” You hear that twice in the New Testament. Here in the Jordan and then on the Mount of the transfiguration, on Mount Tabor, when the Father acknowledges the Son. What profound humility. How awesome is that.? He was willing to come down and be baptized by someone human to save us from our sins. That is a wonderful example of profound humility.

There is another example for us also--a contemporary example. The patron saint of priests, St. John Mary Vianney. I had a story of that little patron saint of priests but Father John shared a better one with me so I think I’m going to use that one instead. One day in the village, there was a petition circulating around to the Bishop. The parishioners were wanting to remove this little saint claiming that he was ineffective, he was incompetent, lazy, driving away people and he was unpopular and thus he should be removed from his office. The little saint then exclaimed, “OK. Show me the petition.” They brought it to him and he read it. To their utter amazement, he pulled out a pen and he signed his name to the petition. He exclaimed, “They’re right.” And he grabbed his cloak and he went off and did his daily rounds of visiting the sick. So much for the petition for removing the pastor who would one day become the patron saint of parish priests. That’s a wonderful story and it’s real too.